Archive of Our Own

It was one of those rare nights where Adventure Bay’s skies were completely cloudless.

An early autumn chill brushing through the air, indicating in the shifts in temperature that would come within the next few weeks. Most of the grass and greenery across the bay had still been its blooming green, but a few standouts were beginning to subtly tint in their yellow colors.

But unfortunately, for a night as beautiful as it was, nobody was awake for it.

It wasn’t that late either, probably somewhere around ten o’clock on a Saturday night. Yet, nobody happened to be awake at this time. No walking, no sightseeing, everything was entirely quiet throughout the night. At most, you could hear the sound of bristling from the trees swaying within the wind.

But within the lookout, the story wasn’t the same. Just because everyone else had been sleeping, didn’t mean the shepherd who was still awake at this time of day.

Standing on his hind legs with his fronts resting along the railing of the balcony, Chase found himself idle while he gazed towards the skies, his tail mindlessly dancing from left to right against his hinds.

It was a shame that everyone wanted to sleep in during a day like this, but following the rescue that had been achieved earlier, he knew it wasn’t worth getting on the other pups for it. Everyone was tired out from scaling cliffsides in order to save a few field-trip students.

Even though, Chase still would’ve liked some company tonight. His head fell downwards onto his crossed paws, a little grumble leaving his muzzle. He could have woken up one of the pups for a walk, surely one of them would have wanted to.

But, he didn’t want to be too selfish. It might’ve been better off to sleep like everyone else.

Pushing himself away from the railing, he fell onto his paws and made his way across the pathway towards the center of the lookout. Even as the sliding doors opened up, he kept himself quiet from making too much noise.

Most of the pups were sleeping within the living quarters, only a select few — that being Marshall, Zuma, and Skye — having stayed within their pup houses instead of sleeping in the lookout. The rest were scattered across the couches, blankets resting over them.

He was able to guess Ryder was the one responsible for it, which meant that if everyone else was tucked in, he was also sleeping by this time.

Funnily, whatever Chase was intended to say next was both interrupted and caught by his nose before any other noise did.

His ears immediately perked upwards, his eyes narrowing as he felt himself lightly hunching downwards in a stealthy manner.

Alright, spy-pup, time to do your thing.

The thought crosses his mind while he carefully stalks his way across the floor, his tail straightened out to prevent him from nudging something. He could feel his teeth gritting beneath his closed muzzle, ready to bare at whoever dared to intrude the lookout this time.

Who could it have been? A raccoon? A bird? One of Humdinger’s Cats? Humdinger himself?

Chase continues to stalk around the corner where he figures the sound had been coming from, slowly letting the adrenaline build in his legs before he goes for the bolt.

And when he does, he expects to see anything that wouldn’t have belonged in the lookout.

…not a very startled Marshall that he almost screams.

“Marshall!?” He whisper yells as he stumbles himself to a stop, the dalmatian pup letting out a quiet yip that’s just about scratching the surface between a whisper and possibly waking someone up.

“C-Chase! Oh… oh, it’s you,” Marshall replies with widened eyes, his chest rising and falling in furious motions as he recovers from the scare. Chase can see how his ears shudder and his nose twitches, his chest feeling tightened from guilt. “Sorry, I-I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me—I just… didn’t know what I heard, yeah,” he justifies his behavior, sitting down and puffing his chest out with pride. Although, he had to admit, he was surprised he didn’t manage to catch Marshall’s scent for once. “I thought you were in your pup house, what are you doing awake?”

“I was gonna come and look at the stars, they were… I couldn’t see them from my pup house, and the roof blocked it so…” Marshall says a bit sheepishly, a little smile on his lips as his tail wags. The sight makes his heart flutter, struggling to hide his own smile. “Yeah… hey—wait, what are you doing up?”

“What?” Chase’s ears lightly fall backwards.

“Yeah! You should, like, totally be sleeping by this point,” Marshall giggles, taking a few steps forward that the shepherd feels like he might fall backward.

“I…” well, there was no point in lying. “I couldn’t sleep either.”

Marshall’s grin feels like there was a game that was being played, one that he had most definitely just lost. Yet, Marshall doesn’t say anything and instead decides to walk right on by the shepherd.

Chase watches his tail as he trails off, gazing at how he starts to head towards the sliding doors that led to the balcony. He’s moving a little slower than usual, as if he were just as afraid of waking someone up.

The sliding doors might wake someone up, or he might trip… was that mean to think about? He felt like something was off, as if there were something that he were missing from…

Maybe they could go for a walk? See the night sky together?

“Hey, Mar—”

“Yeah, let’s go!” He says instantly, turning around and walking right towards the shepherd with a grin.

“…I didn’t even get to say anything,” Chase says, blinking a few times while Marshall walks right beside him, his snout lightly nudging against the side of his muzzle in a, rather surprising gesture. “You said yeah anyway?”

“Well, I figured you’d wanna go for a walk,” Marshall says a bit shyly, his head dipping downwards as he draws his paw in circles against the ground. “Or—or not, we can just stay here and… uhh…”

“…and what?”

“I don’t know, actually.”

“Why did you say it then?”

“I was hoping you’d be able to answer it!”

Chase can’t help but let out a sigh, fighting back his laugh as he leans forward and gently brushes his tongue against the side of Marshall’s muzzle. He never understood why, but every time he did that, he saw how the colors would shift in those spotted cheeks and how quickly that tail would begin to wag.

“Chase—”

“Come on, I know a spot.”

Marshall doesn’t need any further convincing as the two of them go to make their way towards the elevator, with Chase leading to push the button that takes them to the ground floor. The ride is short and not much to reference, other than Chase sparing a small look towards Marshall’s flustered muzzle.

It’s so cute when he does that.

As the elevator doors open, the two of them walked side by side while the German Shepherd led the way, heading towards… well, nowhere actually.

Chase didn’t exactly ‘know’ a spot in specific but given how he knew the layout of the lookout’s island at the back of his paw, it wasn’t hard for him to make a guess where an ideal spot would have been to look at the stars.

They find themselves at a small spot just a little bit away from the lookout, nowhere outside of territory that couldn’t be seen from the balcony. A small patch of grass towards the edges, just right between two trees with slightly thinner spreading branches.

It was the perfect view for the two of them.

He can see the awe in the dalmatian’s sparkling ocean eyes when he sits down, lightly tilting his head for Marshall to join him. Of course, he joins without protest, sliding down to his belly and leaning his weight into the shepherd.

“Wow…” Marshall whispers, his head tilted upwards to remain fixated into the clear skies. “It’s so… pretty.”

“I know right?” Chase has a little pride in the fact that he was able to determine a good enough spot for the two of them to sit alongside each other. “Glad I could convince you to come out.”

“Convince me? I was already going to!” Marshall scoffs, which Chase can’t help but laugh at as he lightly nudges his head against his. He can feel his tail swishing around against the grass behind him. “But… thank you anyway, for bringing me out here.”

“Of course, Marshall,” his grin shows as he looks right back up towards the skies, feeling the dalmatian’s weight settle onto him fully. Thankfully, Marshall is a lot lighter than he looks, so he’s able to remain focused on the sky if he wants.

…but Chase wasn’t going to lie, he couldn’t look at the sky.

Every time he tried to gaze at the skies, his eyes fell onto Marshall who laid right beside him. Even though a word wasn’t exchanged between the two, he felt like he could tell everything that was on his mind, the raw amazement of seeing the millions of skies painted across the purple-blue haze.

He wonders if that’s normal, to be able to understand it in a way like he could. It wasn’t with the other pups either, it was only Marshall he had that eye for.

He doesn’t realize that he’s staring until Marshall drifts away from staring at the sky to look towards him, his ears lightly moving backwards before returning to their normal position. That faint hue of pink hits his cheeks again, smiling weakly as he looks down at the grass beneath him.

“I uh… have to tell you something, Chase,” there’s a sense of seriousness in his voice, making the shepherd worry. What was he about to hear? Who was he about to fight from what he’s about to hear? “I… wasn’t, at first, coming up to look at the sky.”

What?

“Huh?”

“I actually came up to… think.”

Ouch, was Chase doing the wrong thing here? He thought that the dalmatian had wanted to actually see the night skies, but perhaps it was just a metaphor that he had somehow missed on the way towards the elevator. He’s thinking on getting up to help Marshall to a different spot, but at  the same time… he’s far too comfortable to leave now.

“About? What’s up?” He still shows his genuine curiosity, not wanting Marshall to feel as if he couldn’t talk about whatever was on his mind.

“Do you ever think… this is dumb.”

“You can tell me.”

There’s slight hesitation, Marshall’s head dipping downwards to the grass before he tilts it back to Chase.

“Do you ever think about… like, your future?”

“My future?” He’s only fantasized about it a few times.

“Like… what will you be doing in a few years from now?”

Well, that type of question wasn’t what was on his mind.

Often when it came to thinking about the future, Chase usually highlighted the aspects that most dogs who daydreamed would. Strong, steady, and very wise in comparison to how he was now. Not only that, he wanted to be a figure that anyone could look up to… but at the same time, he never weighed in the aspects of other pups.

Well, all except one.

“Sometimes, why?” He asks.

“Do you ever wonder… what if something changed in your life? What if you aren’t the same as you used to be anymore?” It’s a very anxious question, judged by the subtle pinning of his ears and the faint quiver in his bottom lip. “Will people still treat you normally? Or… will they think of you differently.”

Yeah, a very anxious question indeed.

“I don’t know, I never thought about it that way,” he replies, wiping at his own muzzle while he keeps his eyes onto Marshall with a little tilt of the head. “I would think so, I don’t think people would think of anyone any different… especially you.”

“Huh?” Crap, did he say that out loud.

“I mean… people like you for who you are, Marshall,” he bites back a certain follow-up to his phrase, his snout lightly brushing against the corner of Marshall’s muzzle. The feeling of the shuddering breath against his muzzle makes his tail flick about. “I don’t think there’s anything you could do for anybody to think of you differently.”

Marshall doesn’t say anything, only giving a little nod of the head before he sets his head downwards, his front paws stretching out to create a resting place for himself.

Even though he gave the best response he could think of, Marshall still looked like he was uneased. As a gesture to try and comfort him, he leans forward and lays his chin against the dally’s upper back, giving him a smile that he can’t see.

“I wouldn’t treat you differently.”

That disturbs where his head is laying because Marshall lightly lifts his head back up to look behind him, blue eyes gently widened as he kept eye contact with the shepherd.

“Really?” He says it like it’s the first time someone’s said it to him.

“Of course,” with a big grin, Chase settles his head down atop of Marshall, resting it close to where his belly is. He can hear the sound of the dalmatian’s tail hitting the grass below, making his own move in similar motions. “You’re my friend, my best friend, so yeah… I wouldn’t think of you any less, no matter what it was.”

“Even if it was gross?” Marshall giggles nervously, something that Chase can’t help but comfort with a soft laugh of his own.

“When Rubble’s next to your pup house, no such thing as gross anymore,” that gets a proper laugh from Marshall as he sets his head back down onto his paws, while Chase continues to lay his head atop of the dalmatian.

He actually decides to slightly ease downwards, his shifting position so that the side of his head was pressed against his stomach. He refused to put full weight on him, only letting him feel his body against his own as they stared off into the sky.

“And if you needed help… we’d figure it out together,” he concludes.

“Really?” Marshall whispers, so quiet that he almost misses it in the ambience.

“Yeah… you and me, Marshall.”

As the dalmatian continues to stargaze, he repeats his words one last time as he affectionately licks against the back of his ear. As usual, it gets a shuddery noise from Marshall in response, but that doesn’t stop him from looking up into the distance.

“You and me.”

Chase’s sleep is disturbed by the sound of his collar ringing.

A quiet groan leaves his muzzle as he tucks his face further into the fur and blankets that he was laying into, feeling his mate’s body lightly shuffle right beside him. Even while he tried to bury himself beneath the blankets in time, he could feel a paw nudging at his body.

“Chase…” Marshall murmurs out with a soft yawn. “That’s yours.”

“How do you know?” He grumbles sleepily.

“Because mine’s still on me.”

Well, he couldn’t fight that argument.

Groaning once more, Chase pulled himself away from Marshall’s resting form as he blinked his vision into focus, allowing him to recognize the interior of his, much renovated, doghouse. He was able to see the flashing LED framework around his collar’s emblem, flicking in a faint strobe to light up most of the already-dimly-lit interior.

Grumpily, Chase swipes up his collar and lightly presses his paw against it, letting the ringing to subside as it connects through the voice link.

“Chase here,” he says while fighting back a yawn.

“Oh, hey Chase! You are awake!”

Of all people to call him at this time, he’s mildly surprised to hear Rocky’s voice coming through the tag.

“I was trying to sleep, and if you don’t mind, I kind of want to get back to doing that,” he grumpily murmurs, his left ear twitching as he hears the dalmatian stifle a giggle from behind him. “What do you need?”

“Oh, it’s nothing… just a bit of training the new cadets when everyone’s up,” of course, that’s why Rocky of all people was contacting his pup tag. “You know, everyone’s gonna be busy—”

“Did Ryder put you up to this, Rocky?”

There’s a faint silence between the two of them, the only sound within the doghouse being his own breathing and Marshall’s occasional movement within the bed.

“…he says that you get really mean when you’re woken up,” Rocky whispers, as if he were trying to avoid being heard before returning to volume. “Anyways, you think you can show?”

“Yeah, just give me like… ten more minutes.”

He doesn’t really want to though.

“Great, thanks Chase!”

The shepherd presses onto the padding to cut off the call, turning his head backward to see the silhouette of his dalmatian laying along the bed. His head was lifted from the sea of blue blankets, blue eyes managing to shine through the shadows and land onto him.

It didn’t take a mastermind to tell that Marshall and Chase, well, weren’t exactly pups anymore. Chase had finally grown his coat out to resemble a more adult shepherd, whereas Marshall’s thinning furs finally became a thicker texture to see it from a distance. Yet, their ideal palettes in both fur and attitude still looked and remained the same… mostly.

“More training? Sounds like Ryder really wants the rookies set up for when Alex starts,” he giggles to the shepherd, a sound that makes Chase feel nothing close to how tired he was just a few moments ago. Either way, it doesn’t stop him from approaching Marshall’s side and laying down right beside him again.

“I guess… I wish we could wait till after everything settled,” he says with a groan, his head gently brushing across Marshall’s to feel at his fur. The gesture gets a soft hum from the dalmatian in reply. “I get too worried, last thing I want is something happening to anyone on the team during this time.”

“Aw, Chase,” Marshall drags the last syllable out as he lightly pushes himself up, leaning to place the softest little lick against the German Shepherd’s muzzle. “I already told you not to worry, I’m very careful since I’m not working, last thing I’m trying to be is clumsy anyway.”

“I know, I know,” he says with a sigh, lowering his head down to lay it against the dalmatian’s stomach. Seeming to get the message, Marshall shifts over so he’s more leaning towards his back, letting Chase’s ear press more properly against his belly. “I still worry, though… they feel so fragile.”

They are fragile, to both of them.

“You don’t have to worry any more than I do, Chase,” he would never say this out loud, but sometimes Chase grew envious on how Marshall was able to still sound lighthearted no matter the scenario. “I’m okay, I’m going to be okay, and they will be okay.”

All he could do was nod his head and sigh out softly, his nose gently brushing against the dalmatian’s stomach as he placed the softest lick against it. He hears Marshall let out a soft hum of content as he eases back down, his tail lightly thumping against the sheets beneath them.

It was an absolute miracle that it happened, simply because Chase had heard the stories in the past about hypotheticals… but never once did he think that he’d be entering an unexpected phase into his life; let alone with the one that he loved.

Parenthood.

Just three weeks ago, Marshall had come to Chase with shaky paws and nervous laughter, that was soon followed by a tight embrace and an endless amount of sobbing. He didn’t know how, Chase didn’t know how, even Katie was surprised about how this was able to happen.

Her and Ryder both theorized it had to do with the meteor, the one that had turned them into cosmic-energy hosts for their abilities years ago. Yet, those powers were supposed to be gone. They weren’t within the vicinity of the mystical meteor anymore, and when they were, it wasn’t like their genetics and bodies were manipulated alongside it. They were very much still themselves.

Maybe it was something else? Fate? There were so many possibilities, yet none of them happened to make sense when he thought about it.

The relief of it all was that this happened during a time where himself and the rest of the PAW Patrol were… matured, at the very least. They weren’t much older than before but compared to how their bodies and emotions had changed over the last few years, they definitely had the emotional capacity for more important efforts.

Good thing was, Marshall had the support of the entire team when they had to break the news to the rest of them… which was a very awkward thing to explain in the first place. The only ‘bad’ thing was that everyone found out that the two of them weren’t… the only ones expecting, either.

Above all, it was ironic how this had all gone down when they were within the midst of preparing the train the next generation of the PAW Patrol. It was as if the moment that they had stepped into adulthood, all consideration had flown out the window… okay, maybe that was too harsh to say.

“Have any of them started kicking?” He says that a bit randomly, to take his mind off of his rambling. His attention drifts to his dalmatian’s face, who looks down at him with a smile and shake of the head. “When do you think they’ll start?”

“Katie says it’s around the seventh week, sixth at the earliest,” he explains, his soft expression looking to the ceiling as the thoughts ran through his mind. Chase always thought it was adorable when he’d catch him lost in thought. “I’ll actually have to check in with her later today, she wants to run another ultrasound.”

“Wonder if we’ll find out how many we’re having soon,” another thought that crosses the shepherd’s mind, his own tail wagging as a cocky smirk forms over his muzzle. “I’m thinking six.”

“Six!?” Marshall is snapped out of his trance as he widens his eyes, looking down at Chase. “I don’t even think I could handle four!”

He can’t help but burst out into a small fit of laughter at his mate’s reaction, not paying much mind to gentle shove that Marshall gives the top of his head followed by a scoff. He knew deep down that he didn’t mean it, only wanting to taunt him for a moment.

“How ever many it is, I just know that… we’re going to love them regardless,” he says with his big smile, watching the pink appear on Marshall’s cheeks. “We’re gonna be the best parents that these pups could ever wish for, plus, we’re going to be… awesome.”

“I know, I just hope we don’t mess up,” Marshall replies with a smile, softly sighing afterward. “Or, I don’t mess up.”

“You won’t.”

“How do—”

“You won’t,” Chase reaffirms, not wanting to argue with Marshall’s internalized doubt about how his performance as a parent would turn out. He didn’t mind talking about it, but this was one of those times when he hoped they could just bask in each other’s love; at least before work. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Marshall’s lips form into a smile, and Chase can’t help but climb up to give him a soft nuzzle along the side of his snout. Soon enough, that leads to the two gazing at one another before they fell into a sweet, passionate kiss.

Chase was cautious not to put any of his weight on Marshall, even though it definitely felt like the dalmatian had wanted him to. Those spotted forepaws found their way towards the shepherd’s shoulders, moving up to pull him in deeper to the kiss. Of course, he was in no place to reject his mate’s advances.

He wish he could’ve stayed here, even though they weren’t taking anything farther than it was.

But much to his dismay, their kiss was broken by the sound of Chase’s pup tag going off again, the shepherd groaning while Marshall chuckled at his annoyance.

“Seems like Ryder needs you,” that taunting voice returns, as a paw lightly rubs against Chase’s lowered muzzle.

“You’re so lucky you don’t have to work anymore…”

If there’s boys; Neptune—or Nep, Percy, Atlas, Apollo (good one, Rocky), and Nova.

If there’s girlsl; Mercury—or Mercy, River, Coral, Isle, Skyla (proud of that one), and Sylvia.

Names crossed the labrador’s mind as his head laid onto the cushioning that was beneath him, remembering the conversation that he had late at night just over a day ago. When he heard that picking puppy names was rough, he thought people were exaggerating—until he started himself.

Thankfully, Skye was very open to ideas when it came to naming them. If anything, she had the biggest say in them, but it was still kind that his mate wanted to share ideas about names rather than picking specific ones.

Either way, it gave Zuma enough time as he laid on the couch. The rest of his teammates were either sleeping or getting ready for work, or possibly outside with the rest of the new cadets. By the way, he was definitely very excited to see how they would come along with their duties.

They were nice pups, and the more that he thought about it, the more excited he was to see what it was going to be like with him and Skye’s pups. He could already picture it, the two of them, occasionally accompanied by Chase and Marshall, and five-to-six little sets of paws just roaming across the grass.

Tilting himself to lay onto his side, he lightly flicks his tongue across his lips as he does think about eating—but at the same time, he’s been having trouble with that lately. His appetite wasn’t as strong as it used to be, and part of him guesses it had to do with the food poisoning he caught a month ago.

His little train of thoughts about what to do next are cut off as he hears the sliding doors of the lookout open, his attention turning to the sight of the familiar mixed breed that was stepping inside. No pup pack located, which gave him the indication that he had likely just woken up.

 “Rocky!” He says a bit happily, his plush tail swishing around behind him as his voice catches his best friend’s attention. “Nice to see you’re up, dude!”

“Oh, hi Zuma,” that happiness is mutual, even though Rocky’s tone is a lot more laid back than the chocolate lab’s. Either way, he knows that voice enough to know he’s happy. “I’ve been up; I just didn’t want to leave my doghouse after Ryder got me to call Chase.”

“Ryder made you call Chase?” Zuma asks with a tilt of the head, his eyes following his friend as he fetched a purple rope toy from the side, carrying it with him as he hopped to the couch. The labrador makes room for his friend when he does so. “Why?”

“Today’s one of the skill trials, him and Skye are coaching,” Rocky explains, making his ear twitch as he lightly recoils in response.

“That’s today? Skye said they weren’t supposed to be for another three weeks,” he says, his face twisting into a puzzled expression as he tries to comprehend a reason why this was the case.

“Might’ve been a last minute change of plans,” the mixed breed shrugs.

“Has to be, maybe I’ll see if I can ask him when I see him,” he shrugs, his head lowering back down to his paws as he looks aimlessly around the lookout. “We were supposed to wait so that everyone who couldn’t work at the time wouldn’t have to worry.”

“And I doubt he fetched Marshall, Chase would probably… no, not probably,” Rocky shakes his head, looking towards Zuma with a grin. “Chase would definitely bite him if he tried to get him anywhere out of his doghouse.”

That gets a genuine laugh from Zuma as he tilts his head back, simply because he knew how true it was. He remembered the one time he had accidentally woken Marshall up a few days after the announcement, and Chase let out a bark so loud that he begged Ryder for earplugs whenever a thunderstorm came by. Of course, the police dog was the scariest one here.

“I fully believe it too, dude,” Zuma says as his laughter subsides to giggles, fixing himself on how he laid on his side. “So, Chase, Skye, Rubble—actually, is he even awake?”

“Yeah, he was working on the course with Ryder.”

“Okay—so literally everyone but Marshall?” He says for confirmation, which Rocky seems to think before nodding on his own account. “I can definitely help out; I wouldn’t mind helping—if any of the skill trials are going to be of my ideal workplace.”

“I don’t think he mentioned anything swimming related, sorry to break the news,” Rocky’s chipped ear lightly lowers as he says this, but it doesn’t hurt Zuma’s feelings to hear this.

“Oh, that’s alright, just less work for me!”

“You little—“ Rocky cuts himself off with a laugh, rolling his eyes as he picks the rope toy back up with his teeth to bite into it. Zuma can only give a soft little grin before he returns back to settling down, continuing to look towards the windows of the lookout.

And it’s not long before his attention is caught again.

Zuma’s eyes shift as he hears the sounds of the sliding doors opening once more, and through them came his one and only mate. The golden brown and cream cockapoo, having been dressed in her standard attire for most of her operations. Although, she had no pack on this time, but it didn’t manage to take away from her striking beauty.

It immediately makes his heart throb as he looks towards her, and the moment that her eyes meet his, he feels his own skip a beat. The hint of her smile is enough to brighten the lookout, even with the sun peering in through the windows.

She’s so beautiful.

Rocky seems to catch a non-existent memo, given how he picks up his toy to climb off the couch, sparking a moment of confusion from the labrador.

“Imma give you two your space, that way I’m not grossed out by you two kissing,” he says in a manner that Zuma knows is playful, causing him to playfully stick his tongue out at him with a non-serious glare. “I’ll head back to my doghouse before Ryder decides to call me in for work.”

“You don’t have to,” Zuma says.

“I know, but I’d rather,” he concludes as he bids a farewell with a nod of the head, walking towards Skye and giving her a big smile. She manages to return it, making his tail wag before he proceeds towards the elevator of the lookout.

Once he enters, Skye gets closer to Zuma and decides to speak.

“Hope I didn’t scare him away,” she says with a nervous giggle, her ears drooping momentarily.

“Nah, he probably just figured my attention was only gonna be on you,” it sounds a little selfish when he says it, but there genuinely isn’t any form of negativity behind them. “I thought you woulda went to go help Chase and Ryder.”

“I wanted to come to you before doing anything else,” as Skye approaches the couch, she stands up on her hinds so that she can lean up and give Zuma a loving lick on the muzzle, one that makes him feel like he’s gonna melt from the inside. “I thought you would be sleeping at this time.”

“I wasn’t thinking of that,” he lies; he absolutely was, and she can see right through it with a playful raised eyebrow. “…okay, maybe I was thinking about it.”

“I know,” Skye giggles before she kicks up from her hinds and elegantly lands right beside Zuma onto the couch. He goes to make space for her the same way he did for Rocky, but before he can, she already nestles herself against him and nuzzles under his forelegs into a cuddly embrace.

If his tail wasn’t already wagging hard by now, it was practically a propeller by how much it thumped against the couch.

“How are you?” He asks as he nuzzles at the top of her head, his paws finding comfort around her upper torso while pulling her closer into him.

“Couldn’t be any better,” she replies with a sweetness signature to her character, followed by her gently licking against the bottom of his chin. It didn’t take much for him to realize he could feel the heat climbing up his face.

“Even though you have to train the new pups today?” He grins.

“Unlike everyone else, I’m happy to have new teammates!” Skye retorts with a roll of the eyes, leaning back to stretch for a moment before returning back to being comfortable in the labrador’s grasp. “It’ll be good to have multiple pups for different tasks, and, it’ll be good practice.”

“Practice?”

“Yeah, you know…” she becomes noticeably shy as she tilts her head up at Zuma, blinking her magenta eyes up at him. “When that time comes.”

“Oh, I know what you meant, I just thought it was funny you called it ‘practice,’” he says cheekily, which is met with a soft and playful pat on the cheek by the cockapoo. “It’s still so crazy to me that we’re going to be, like, actual parents.”

“I know… you scared?”

“Me? Of course not,” Zuma is dismissive at first, but he knows that Skye wasn’t going to let him up unless he actually told the truth. “Maybe a little, but, who isn’t?”

“Yeah, I won’t lie, it’s definitely a bit crazy to think about…”

“Well, the good thing is,” he tilts his head downwards to brush his nose against Skye’s chest, feeling as she lets out a gentle giggle to the ticklish sensation. “They’re gonna have the best mom in the whole world.”

“Aww… you really think so?” Her grin catches him again, this time though, Zuma’s certain that he can see a little bit of glossiness within her eyes; which is why he leans forward to brush his nose with hers.

“I know it, Skye.”

Skye took a lot of pride in knowing that the knew cadets definitely favored her in comparison to Chase. Not that it was anything spiteful, she loved the playful banter between herself and the shepherd.

While the rest of the early afternoon carried out, the two dogs were in charge of maintaining the rest of the younger recruits that Ryder had rounded up, alongside Alex Porter – who came along a little later than expected. Given that he was the age that Ryder was when he had formed the team, it didn’t take long to guess that he was going to be involved in some capacity to.

The set of pups too definitely had variety, one similar to the ones of the current members. A border collie, a golden retriever, a chihuahua, a bullmastiff, a springer spaniel, and a rottweiler. If there was anything on Skye’s mind about the breeds, it was the fact that her record as the smallest member had a chance of being challenged when the chihuahua was older.

Back to the pups, today’s lesson had consisted of trials to see what the individual pups’ skills could’ve been. They all ranged from general knowledge, physical activity, and then trials that were actively pertained to the members and their ideal specialties; such as fire training, junior espionage, swimming, etc.

Thankfully, none of the recruits were going to be participating in anything flying related, which she was grateful for that Ryder took her advice.

Either way, training all of the cadets was a fun mission for her, and definitely unexpectedly demanding for Chase. She could see the moments where his eyes would widen and suddenly have to snap back into form in order to keep going, and it took her the best to hold it together for his sake.

Thankfully, for now, they were able to change to a break, which gave Chase and Skye a little moment to both catch their breaths and catch up in general.

“Jeez… who knew those little rascals had so much energy in them?” Chase pants as he collapses onto his back, whereas she simply sat down right beside him and moved her forelegs to stretch. “Were we that energetic when we came here?”

“I definitely was, I dunno about you,” she giggles as she tilts her head back, taking in a deep breath of the outside air before returning back to her former posture. “They’re learning so quick though, I feel so proud when I see them do great in their tasks.”

“That’s your parental instincts,” the shepherd groans, which makes her narrow her eyes towards him as she brings herself to smirk.

“Something you’re already missing.”

“What!?”

His reaction gets her to laugh as she notices his wide-eyed stare, watching as he scoffed and pushed himself back to his paws shortly afterwards.

“I’m just kidding, we’re all still learning about getting along with little ones… some of us need it more than others,” she murmurs that last part, simply because at the corner of her eye, she can spot a familiar bulldog heading towards the inside.

“Are you talking about Rubble stealing from the dispenser again?”

“Exactly that,” she giggles. “But, really, it’s a good exercise. Soon enough, you’ll be able to balance with the cadets and our little ones.”

It was such a great anticipation, at least to Skye it was. The idea of there not only being a new generation of pups for the PAW Patrol, but a new generation descending from the founders of the team as well along the way. Was it cliché? Sure, but it didn’t make it any less exciting for her.

“Surprised Zuma doesn’t worry about you doing any heavy lifting, I thought he’d want you to stick right by his side for the day,” it’s a clear taunt from Chase, but Skye takes it lightheartedly as usual as she wags her tail.

“He knows I’m tough, he doesn’t have anything to worry about,” Skye says with pride, showing her teeth with her grin before her mind trails elsewhere for a moment. “Hey, how’s Marshall holding up though?”

“He’s good, has an ultrasound today when he stops by Katie’s,” he explains, and she makes a note that she should probably go with him. “He won’t say it, but I can definitely tell that he’s nervous.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, even though I know he’s excited, I can definitely see that he’s nervous,” from Skye’s perspective, it doesn’t seem like Marshall might be the only one nervous about the future that lied ahead of the two. “I mean, I am too—but his is different. I think it might be a bit more… personal.”

“You mean other than the fact he’s going to be pushing out life in a month?” It’s a little quip, but it’s still a question.

“Definitely other than that… I don’t wanna say it, but I think it might have to do with his past.”

Skye feels like she knows what he means by that.

Marshall, as far as she was aware, was a lot like Chase when he had grown up; except that the dally hadn’t known his parents prior to becoming a stray. If she was going to make any guesses, even though she didn’t really like to pry into his personal life, it might’ve been fear of him doing the same thing.

It might’ve also been a dumb thing to guess; Marshall wasn’t someone to try and abandon anybody as far as she was aware; so doing that to his own pups was incredibly uncharacteristic.

“Either way,” she says, wanting to change the topic from such a heavy thing and bring a bit more light into their world. “I feel like you two are going to be amazing parents.”

“I sure hope so.”

“You don’t have to hope,” she insists, turning towards Chase and lowering her chest to the ground as she kept eye contact with him. “You’re both charismatic, you’re both really sweet and always look out for one another. They’re gonna have the best dads in the whole world.”

“Don’t flatter me,” Chase says with a soft smirk, his ear twitching. “Thank you, really.”

“Of course,” she smiles, stepping towards Chase and giving him a friendly little pat along his shoulder with her paw. “I’m gonna go find Ryder and the trainees, hopefully they’re not all passed out from exhaustion.”

“You go ahead, I’m gonna lay back for a minute more,” ironically, Chase seems to plummet back to the ground when he says that, which causes Skye to roll her eyes in reply as she begins to trot off.

Not without one little more taunt, at least.

“One thing.”

“Huh?”

“Me and Zuma are still gonna be the most awesome,” part of Skye does hope that Chase recognizes it as the banter that it was, because she didn’t actually mean it. Yet, the German Shepherd had a track record of overthinking… part of her started questioning if she should have been teasing him in the first place.

Great, now I’m overthinking, she thinks to herself—until Chase speaks up again.

“The pups are making you put on weight.”

Oh, no he did not.

Skye slowly turns her head to look towards the shepherd with a fierce glare, noticing that he hadn’t been paying attention to her due to him kicking his hind-claws against his neck to itch it. If anything, that makes it perfect as she steps back over towards him.

And the moment he stops itching himself and regains his focus, she pounces.

The sound that follows afterwards is a scream of terror from the PAW Patrol’s police dog.

Later into the evening, Marshall found himself at Katie’s parlor.

“Alright, so if you look here,” Katie says as she brings her hand towards the monitor, the cold gel rubbing on his belly making him shudder while his eyes shift to the screen. “Those little orb-like things? Those are the fetal sacs.”

It was such a strange thing to witness, because this was the first time he was actually managing to see something other than an x-ray of his insides. His mouth lightly hangs as he lets out a soft exhale, completely in awe by the sight in front of him.

“Wow…” he whispers as he tilts his head among the black and white screen, watching as Katie lightly moved the probe to showcase the sighting a bit more properly, the subtle angle change giving him a much more proper sight of the sac that had been growing inside of him. He could feel his face flush, followed by his wagging tail. “That’s so awesome… I still can’t believe this is happening to me.”

“You and me both, this is an absolute wonder that nobody thought was possible,” Katie compliments with a wide smile, withdrawing the probe and using a small rag to wipe away the freezing gel from his exposed belly. It felt like a relief to get it off, simply because it was cold. “I bet they’re gonna be adorable when they’re here too.”

“I bet too… hey, random question,” he’s very shy when he says this, but it’s still a worthy question to ask. “Are you ever able to tell… how many pups are going to be born?”

“Sadly, no, it’s a little more complicated than humans,” the blonde says with a little shrug, removing the gloves from her hands and discarding them alongside the rag. “Why? Are you hoping for a certain number?”

“Anything less than six,” he blushes.

“Six!?” Skye chips from the couch, causing him and Katie’s heads to turn towards her and laugh at her surprise. “That’s a whole team inside of you by that point.”

“Blame Chase!” He says as his ears lightly lower, moving carefully to climb off of the medical table to land back onto the floor, his paw pads getting used to the texture beneath him. “He’s the one who put the idea in my mind.”

“Can I give you an honest reply, Marshall?” Katie says.

“Sure?”

“Ryder said the same thing.”

“Oh, you have to be kidding me!” Desperately, the dalmatian buries his face into his paws as he looks towards the ground, shielding himself from anyone’s eyes. “Why does everyone think I’m gonna have so many!?”

“It’s alright, Marshall,” Skye says with a bit of a comforting tone, one that makes him peak one eye up from his paws while keeping a stern look towards the cockapoo to see if she was pulling his leg. “Don’t stress too much; I don’t think you’re going to have a lot either.”

“It’s really uncommon for first time mothers, especially cross breeds. Chances are you guys will have a small litter, same goes for Skye and Zuma,” Katie explains as she continues to return her materials back to their former places, cleaning off the ones that stayed. “That reminds me… would you fall into that category?”

“What category?” Marshall asks as he lifts his head up, an ear slightly rising.

“Like—if it’s not weird to ask, would you ideally be considered ‘motherly’ even though you’re a dude?” It’s a question that Marshall had thought of in the past but didn’t want to say anything about because he worried about saying the wrong thing on accident. “Or, would that just be pointless.”

“I think dad, father, whatever it is, would still work,” he says with a shrug to pass off the conversation, looking down to his belly as he sat up right. He wasn’t swelling a lot, but there was a noticeable gain. “We can always find out names later, but for right now, I don’t think it’d be right to be called a mother; I’m not a girl.”

“You know what, that’s a great answer,” Skye compliments.

“I second that,” Katie replies. “Do you want a check-up too, Skye?”

“Oh, no thank you! I’m more than checked up on,” she takes pride in saying this with a nod of the head. “Besides, I gotta get back with Marshall, I bet that they’re probably prepping for the movie tonight.”

“Another Apollo movie?” Katie guesses correctly and it makes Marshall fight back a giggle.

“Pups, old and new, love it for some reason—it’s Rocky’s fault that Zuma has the name in his board of ideas,” the cockapoo playfully groans, dramatically planting her paw against her face. However, Marshall could see that clear grin beneath it as she lifts her head up. “You’re more than welcome to come too, Katie.”

“Oh, I would, but I’ve already got my hands full for the rest of the night,” Katie says with a sheepish shrug, looking down at her hands before returning her attention to the two dogs. “Next time, though. Ryder still owes me for suddenly bringing you guys to me when I found out that his dogs were pregnant.”

“He owes you? How?”

“I had to delay a pre-existing appointment for a pregnancy check-up.”

“Ouch,” Marshall grimaces. “That’ll do it… next movie, then.”

“Bye, Katie!”

“Take care you two!”

With that, Marshall and Skye made their way out of the familiar parlor and onto the streets of Adventure Bay. They remained onto the sidewalk, even though no cars were intending to pass by, as they strolled through the sunset evening towards the lookout. Sure, it may have been a bit of a lengthy walk, but Marshall and Skye were more than happy to take it.

Besides, it gave them a bit of time to talk as well.

“Apollo, huh?” He kicks up the conversation, watching as a few birds flew off into the distance from the arch of the bridge. “Rocky’s idea?”

“I know I’m a little rough on it, but it’s actually one of the names I really like,” Skye says with a clear flush in her expression, making Marshall grin as he sees how her own smile comes into play. “It was a part of our childhoods, the name has it’s own resemblance with me too… so, I don’t see the harm in it.”

“I think it’s a cool name too,” he gives his own thoughts, glancing at his paws while he walked for a moment. “Have you guys thought about how many you two would be having? Pups, I mean.”

“Four.”

“You think so?”

“I feel certain, I don’t know if it’s just mother’s intuition but…” Skye says as she closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath and smiling as she opened them and looked over towards the dalmatian. “I can feel it… something is telling me we’re gonna have four.”

“You aren’t scared?” He feels like it’s such a dumb question to ask, he should have anticipated this ever since the night that he realized that his strange feelings weren’t just queasiness.

“Of course, I’m worried myself,” she tells him, something that actually surprises Marshall a lot more than he expects it to. “I don’t know where parenthood will lead me and Zuma, I don’t know what’ll happen with the rest of the team too… our duties, our roles, it’s going to take some time to get used to.”

It’s a vulnerability that he doesn’t see often except for select members of the PAW Patrol. Sure, they were all interconnected emotionally in one way or another, but they weren’t exactly the most expressive with their feelings in scenarios like this. Everyone was friends, but close friendships were a different story.

“But, I’m tough and Zuma is tougher, the two of us are willing to take the risks that are going to come with it… and we love this team too much to just give it up,” that puts a warmth in Marshall’s heart, nodding his head as the two of them continue along down the road. “I bet that you two will do good too.”

“I hope so… I just don’t want to be a disappointment to them, or anyone,” he couldn’t just hide it anymore, a sigh leaving his lips as he contemplates on pausing his walking. “I was an orphan; I didn’t know what I was supposed to have as an example of a father… I don’t want to pass that on.”

“Oh, Marshall,” Skye says with sympathy, leaning over and rubbing her side against his as she gives an affectionate rub of the head towards his cheek. “You won’t be a bad father, you’re gonna be a great one.”

“How can you know that though? I don’t even know where to begin!” He hates how he sounds in this moment, it’s so pessimistic and unlike him. He’s probably bothering Skye with it too, given she had her own set of worries, and he was pouring out his own. “I know nothing about being a dad…”

“Nobody knows anything when doing something for the first time, they don’t make a guidebook for parents,” the way Skye talks to him makes it seem like she had been through this before, even though this was the first time she was going to be a mother as well. “Like us when we came here, we didn’t know that being part of the PAW Patrol wouldn’t be easy… but we did a great job at what we did.”

“But this isn’t work.”

“I know it isn’t, but either way, it’s still showing that we were determined enough to keep going,” Skye comforts. “Trust me, you’re going to be a great dad, both you and Chase are gonna be amazing parents.”

Even though he wants to push back and protest it more, he knows deep down that Skye is actually right about what she’s saying. There wasn’t any guide or rules he had to follow to this, he didn’t know what it’d be like raising a child on his own… his only comparison was Joey, but even then, that’s not the same thing as literally creating life inside of yourself.

He knows he shouldn’t dwell on it, but he absolutely wants to. His past as a stray, his time before the PAW Patrol, how was he supposed to know where to go once they were actually born?

“I hope so…” he murmurs as she peels away from his side, looking down at the pavement while continuing to walk with the cockapoo.

“How about something less negative… have you thought of any names?” She offers, and when Marshall looks at her, she gives a little wink towards him. “I won’t share or steal any of them, you have my promise.”

There were a few that Marshall had been thinking of in silence, some he didn’t bring up to Chase simply because of how he worried how he’d react to them. One was related to a gem, another was related to a location… even though, there was one name that Chase had shared with him in secret.

Skye was a friend, and she wouldn’t tell… so why not?

“Chase… really likes Jax,” he says, the name a bit easy to say on the tongue since he had been saying it a few times to get used to it. “It was his grandpa’s name, his mom used to say that his dad wanted to name him that originally.”

“Do you like it?”

“Actually… yeah, I really do,” he tells the truth. “I’ve been saying it to myself, I’m getting used to it… if we have a boy, I’d be more than happy to give him that name.”

“I like it, actually, it fits you guys’ dynamic,” he’s not too sure what Skye means by it, but he knows it’s most definitely a compliment. “Are there any names of yours that you want to share?”

Well… now was a time to share them.

It wasn’t until later on that the movie had actually started, when everyone had settled down and Ryder had gathered everyone into the main hall of the lookout to place the Apollo movie onto the projector. There were a few other choices, but the overwhelming majority had decided the fan favorite.

Soon enough, the bean bag chairs were out, the pup beds were laid, and the movie had been playing.

The cadets had all found their individual spots across the lookout to watch the movie, some just looking for a place to rest and others to find a spot to lay down and watch the film without being disturbed by the set of ears. As for the legacies, they all had their own spots where they found to be comfortable.

Rubble had been laying onto one of the couches, with Rocky right alongside him so that they had the best seat in the house. Zuma, and Chase himself on the other hand, decided to lay close with Ryder. Not only since he was on a beanbag chair, but also because they were closer to the doors; where their mates would be coming back any second.

Funnily, the moment Chase thinks that, his attention is picked up by the sound of the sliding doors.

He lifts his head up and turns to see the sight of Marshall and Skye entering back in, moving quietly so that they wouldn’t wake up any of the sleeping pups that had been around. They both managed to spot where Zuma and Chase were and made their way over, both of their smiles mutually big.

“Hi guys, sorry we’re a little late,” Skye whispers as she sneaks on over, nuzzling at Zuma once the two of them got close to one another. He quickly moved himself over to grant her a bit more room, his paws finding their way around her body when she snuggled in beside him. “Mmnfh… we just had a chat while on the walk back.”

“All good, you guys didn’t miss much,” Zuma whispers to her in response.

Marshall approaches Chase next, which the shepherd is quick to grant him a soft lick along the side of his muzzle. He accepts it with a chuckle as he lets his mate settle down right beside him, bringing a foreleg around him to pull him closer while he moved his attention back to the projector.

“How was Katie?” Ryder whispers to the two that had entered, which Chase picks up with a twitch of the ear as he tunes out the movie.

“Good, she said that everything looks healthy,” Marshall whispers back, tilting his head to spare a glance at him before returning his attention back to the screen.

“She couldn’t make it, I invited her,” Skye whispers over as well. “She said next time.”

“Awh, well thanks for asking anyway,” Ryder replies, reaching over and giving the cockapoo a soft rub along the head before returning his attention to the rest of the movie.

As the movie goes on to play for the rest of the remainder, Chase doesn’t actually watch it. His attention remains settled onto Marshall specifically, noticing how he seemed a lot more relaxed on this night in comparison to ones in the past. It wasn’t a problem, of course, but it was a noticeable change.

It was good that he was at ease, it always pained him to see how nervous Marshall could grow.

While holding Marshall close, Chase ends up bringing himself to nuzzle into the crook of his neck, leaving a trail of kisses that move up to his ear. It gets a little hum of content from the dalmatian, with him tilting his head to allow him to continue his little gestures while they happily embraced one another within the midst of the screening.

He was able to catch Zuma and Skye from the corner of his eye, with how the two had been huddled into one another. Skye was tucked perfectly into Zuma’s chest, her head resting right beneath his chin as he peered down and gave her soft little nuzzles every now and then.

It was a peaceful sense, one that was shared similarly to himself and Marshall. They had their own confidence about the future, a sense of confidence that he could feel rubbing off onto them.

Which is why, during the movie, he breaks to whisper towards the two of them.

“Hey, guys?”

It garners the attention of both Zuma and Skye as they turn their attention towards the shepherd, with Marshall shuffling around to look up at him as well in curiosity of what he was going to say.

“We’re gonna be okay,” he says, reassuringly with a smile because he knows it himself now. “All of us.”

He doesn’t need to elaborate further; the message seems to go through with all of them in understanding. He feels Marshall nod his head before the rest of them, speaking shortly after.

“Yeah, we’re going to be.”

Zuma follows in shortly after.

“Agrweed.”

Then Skye.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

A few months later, seven more miracles came to the family of the PAW Patrol.

Seven miracles that consisted of four Cockapoo and Labrador Retriever mixes, and three Dalmatian-German Shepherd mixes.

Zuma and Skye had two boys that they proudly named Neptune and Apollo, alongside two girls named Mercury and River. Neptune and Mercury both had their fair shares of mixes that defined the two of them, colors shifting from cream and brown and tan. You could tell between the two of them on who had the stronger genes, but for Apollo and River, they both were near-splitting images of their individual parents; as if they had been gender swapped.

As for Marshall and Chase, two girls and one boy were introduced into their family, a litter half of what Chase had unintentionally scared into him. Their girls, named Savannah and Ivory, had their fair share of individual mixes, dominantly shepherd but with the softest hints to allude they were dalmatian as well. Jax was an entire duplicate of Chase, only defining his crossbreed from his tail structure and familiar ocean eyes.

To no surprise, everyone loved them.

They kept it only within the main members of the team at first, but as the weeks slowly went by, they became more and more accommodated with people seeing their offspring. The new cadets were really excited and happy for the couples, and soon enough, outside friends and ideal family were introduced little by little to the little ones.

Between the four of them, they couldn’t be happier for anything more.

Marshall had been laying down onto his side, watching from a small distance as the series of dogs and pups, supervised by Alex, Katie, and Ryder, all were within cahoots and playing with one another.

Of course, the pups of the members themselves weren’t directly in this circle either, with the lone exceptions of Mercury, Apollo, and Savannah. All three of them had insisted that they’d let them play with the others, and the pleading look in their eyes made it hard to say no to. Thankfully, they weren’t doing anything necessarily rough to worry about.

Right next to him, Jax and Ivory had been cuddled up right beside him, similarly to River and Neptune who were snuggled up right beside Zuma—who was also within a close distance with the dalmatian.

Chase and Skye were handling with the other pups in the distance, their little yips and playfulness reminiscent of each parent in one shape or another. Compared to the rest of the cadets, sure, they were pretty small, but it was incredibly hard to miss them with how much energy that they happened to carry within them.

It was like everything had been right into place.

“You know… I think we did an awesome job,” Zuma’s voice breaks Marshall out of his trance as he turns his head to look towards him, seeing his tail swishing as he motions towards the rest of the crew. “I still can’t believe this is real.”

“You and me both, Zuma,” he says with a wide smile, leaning downwards to give his two pups a soft nuzzle as they laid beside him in slumber. Jax stirred lightly but soon settled his head back down into resting. “I still can’t believe that I was so scared about what it’d be like.”

“It just took a leap, one that I’m verwy happy that we managed to take,” the labrador mentions with a little smile as he returns back to watching over the crowd within the grass. “I’m glad that we managed to get into this, even though we didn’t expect anything to happen in the first place… especially with you.”

“You can say that again…” he giggles, setting his head down onto his paws while he watched his mate and daughter. “…do you still have any idea on what made it happen?”

“Fate.”

“Okay, like, actually.”

“I dunno, Mawrshall… all I know though, is that I’m happy.”

That’s a fair point, one that he doesn’t want to argue either. So, with a little smile and nod of the head, he decides to let the conversation drift aside. There wasn’t an explanation, nor was there any way he could actually figure out how he had managed to get pregnant… but what Zuma said is what really mattered.

They were happy.

“You know what they don’t tell you though?” Zuma says, breaking Marshall out of his train of thoughts.

“Huh?”

“That you feel a lot heavier after giving birth.”

“You feel that way too!?” Marshall says a little bit louder than he wants, wincing in surprise that he wasn’t alone and was entirely vindicated on the strange feeling of weight change following his pups’ birth. “I thought I was just going crazy because I got out of shape.”

“Nope, I noticed it too after,” Zuma replies, taking in a sigh of relief. “I’m glad that I’m not the only one who noticed it, though. Makes me feel a lot bettewr about myself.”

“Hopefully, it’s not for long… sooner or later we’ll have to get back in shape, we can’t be on leave forever,” he says to Zuma with a playful wink and sway of the tail.

“Sure, but for now, I’m gonna enjoy being on leave until it’s time to be on a roll again.”

To be honest, Marshall couldn’t agree more.